(Yicai Global) July 7 -- Muyuan Foodstuff, China's second-biggest live pig seller, expects to report massive gains in the first half of this year as pork prices have increased rapidly amid limited supply.

Net profit could come in between CNY10.5 billion and CNY11 billion (up to USD1.6 billion), the Henan province-based firm said in a statement yesterday. A year ago, it made a net loss of CNY156 million (USD22.2 million).

Due to the African swine fever outbreaks, domestic pig inventories have dropped significantly while prices have risen sharply from a year earlier, the company explained.

In the first half of this year, Muyuan sold 6.8 million pigs, making CNY20.7 billion (USD3 billion) in sales, according to another statement published on the same day.

Founded in 1992, Muyuan Group took its unit public in January 2014. The company's stock price [SHE: 002714] started climbing this morning, approaching its all-time high of CNY92.70 (USD13.20).

Last year, the firm multiplied its net profit by more than 10 times to CNY6.1 billion while its revenue climbed by more than a half to CNY20.2 billion, according to its earnings report. It sold 10.3 million pigs, ranking second among listed domestic pig breeders.

Editor: Emmi Laine